Makoto Nishikado didn't save every woman in danger. He generally only stepped in when someone was about to receive a fatal blow.
Otherwise, the combat practice would be meaningless.
A few scrapes and bruises never hurt anyone.
But after pulling a few saves, Makoto spotted a problem.
Against the Roger Pirates, only a handful of his companions could hold their own. Reze, Kotonoha Katsura, Utaha Kasumigaoka, the ones who'd trained hard.
The rest? Fighters like Yui Yuigahama and Sayoko Miura on the weaker end.
Or the truly outmatched ones like Alice and Ai Hayasaka.
Any casual counterattack from the enemy could kill them outright. They simply couldn't fight at this level.
Case in point: Erina Nakiri had grabbed one of the Flying Thunder God kunai Makoto gave her and charged toward Blumarine, a Roger Pirates ship officer wielding a massive hammer. She waited for the right moment to land a sneak attack.
Her timing wasn't bad. But every single member of the Roger Pirates wielded at least two types of Haki, so of course they sensed her coming.
Blumarine swung on reflex, then hesitated when he realized his attacker was a young girl. He pulled the strike on instinct. But even that fraction of force carried the weight of a collapsing mountain.
Erina cried out in pain, her body already hurtling through the air.
In the split second before impact, Makoto materialized beside her. His right arm caught her slender waist while his left fist shot back toward Blumarine in a single fluid motion.
Bang!
Blumarine went flying.
Makoto glanced down. "Yeah, opponents at this level are a bit much for you."
"I... I'm sorry..." Erina whispered.
"Don't worry about it. I'll get you a Devil Fruit later. Take your time training."
He gave her rear a light tap and vanished again.
A shudder ran through Erina's entire body, warmth pooling between her thighs. "...Jerk," she murmured.
On the other side of the battlefield, Silvers Rayleigh, first mate of the Roger Pirates, had drawn his blade. His opponent was Reze in her bomb-hybrid form.
Unlike Blumarine, who'd pulled his punch against a teenage girl, Rayleigh didn't dare show the slightest carelessness against Reze.
She picked up a massive chunk of torn flesh from a fallen Roger Pirates crewman, squeezed it to her lips, and let the blood pour into her devil-mouth lined with razor fangs.
The sword wounds Rayleigh had inflicted on her healed before his eyes.
"Drinking blood to regenerate... Similar to Ganz's ability on the surface, but fundamentally different," Rayleigh muttered to himself.
Ganz was a mid-ranking officer in the Rocks Pirates, a Bomb Bomb Fruit user. His powers looked like Reze's at first glance, but a single clash revealed how little they had in common. Ganz had none of her versatility, and he certainly couldn't heal by drinking blood.
"You're quite the handful, old man," Reze said, shifting into a karate stance. "Shall we go again?"
Boom!
Reze's feet exploded, and the propulsive force launched her at Rayleigh like a missile. Her fist drove straight for his nose.
Among the spectating Kuja Pirates, Shakky couldn't help screaming, "Rayleigh!"
At the last possible instant, Rayleigh tilted his head. Reze's knuckles grazed past his nose, close enough to feel the wind.
His Observation Haki had reached the level of short-term precognition. Though why that same foresight hadn't been passed on to a certain rubber-brained future king remained a mystery.
The next instant, Rayleigh countered with a single backhand slash. No mercy. His blade carved clean through Reze's neck, separating the young woman's head from her torso.
"Rayleigh really doesn't hold back, does he?"
Roger, still trading blows with Yu Ishigami, glanced over and offered that casual commentary.
He wasn't criticizing. Just ribbing his old friend.
After all, the Roger Pirates had already lost several men in this fight. There was no question now. They were locked in a blood feud with Makoto's crew.
But a second later, the headless Reze raised her hand and spread her fingers.
BOOM.
Her severed head detonated. Half the harbor went up in the blast, and Rayleigh was caught dead center.
Several seconds later, a blood-soaked Rayleigh leapt clear of the smoke, disbelief written across his face. "Her head exploded?"
Below, the smoke thinned.
Headless Reze had reappeared at Makoto's side, tugging playfully at his arm like a clingy girlfriend.
Makoto's gaze swept across every member of the Roger Pirates.
Every single one of them, Roger included, felt a chill crawl up their spine.
Makoto vanished. Less than two seconds later, he reappeared, holding a thick, gushing arm.
"Aaaaagh!"
Before anyone could react, a scream tore through the Roger Pirates' ranks. Everyone turned to see one of their burliest crewmen collapsed on the ground, clutching the bloody stump where his arm had been.
Scopper Gaban. Nozton. One of the largest men in the Roger Pirates, nearly four meters tall.
Makoto's reasoning was simple: big guy, lots of blood.
Under the Kuja Pirates' disbelieving stares, Makoto twisted the severed arm like a wet rag, draining its contents over Reze's headless body. Then he pulled the ripcord on her collar.
Bang!
A brand-new head sprouted from Reze's severed neck. She turned and planted a big kiss on Makoto's cheek.
"Love you!"
"AAaaagh!"
"Nozton!" Gaban's pupils shrank to pinpricks, his grip on his battleaxe tightening until his knuckles went white.
His breathing turned ragged.
He'd been holding back this whole time. Most of Makoto's companions were delicate young women, and despite being a notorious pirate, Gaban had felt awkward about going all out against them. Against Haruno Yukinoshita and the others, he'd basically been playing around.
But now...
"Bastard!"
Gaban roared, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging along his arms. He gripped his battleaxe with both hands as dark Armament Haki coiled around his body. A visible current of black energy gathered along the blade.
"Gaban!"
Rayleigh sensed something wrong and barked, "Don't do anything stupid!"
But it was too late.
Standing right in front of Gaban was Haruno Yukinoshita, still reeling from being knocked back.
Before she could even find her footing, a killing intent cold enough to freeze marrow crashed into her.
"Oh my..." Haruno realized she was in serious trouble.
Gaban's axe came down like a thunderbolt.
A roaring slash erupted from the blade, wrapped in black Haki currents, forming a massive crescent-shaped pressure wave that bore down on Haruno.
"Sister!" Yukino Yukinoshita's face went pale.
She knew. At her sister's current level, she couldn't block that attack. Not even close.
Her hands moved on their own, sealing rapidly as chakra surged through her body beyond its limits.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Chakra poured out. Standing water on the ground, moisture in the air, even the seawater from the distant ocean was forcibly drawn in, converging before Yukino into a roaring, thrashing water dragon.
It crashed toward the black slash with everything it had.
But...
Ssshhhk.
The moment water dragon met the slash, it split apart like wet paper. The black Haki pressure wave cut through the entire dragon as cleanly as a hot knife through butter.
Her strongest jutsu couldn't even buy half a second.
Yukino's pupils shook.
The slash was right in front of her.
Haruno stared at the approaching blade of pressure and felt her life flash before her eyes. Not enough time. I'm going to die...
Chapter 140 - The Simp's Demise (Part 2)
"Haruno!!!"
A figure burst from the side.
Hayato Hayama.
His golden hair caught the sunlight in a bright arc. His face was set with absolute resolve as he planted himself directly in front of Haruno Yukinoshita.
"Hayato?!" Yui Yuigahama screamed from across the battlefield.
Hayato didn't look back.
He threw his arms wide, wind blades pouring from his mouth as he strained against the overwhelming pressure. But it lasted less than half a second before the roaring slash swallowed him whole.
Blood erupted in the air, blooming like a crimson flower.
The force of the slash sent Hayato's body flying past Haruno.
Her expression shifted. She spun around and found him on the ground, a ghastly diagonal wound carved from his left shoulder to his right ribs. Blood poured freely.
"Ha... Haruno..." Hayato's lips trembled. Dark red foam bubbled at the corners of his mouth. "...You're okay... good..."
His eyes were starting to glass over, but somehow, a faint smile lingered on his lips.
The smile of a simp.
Haruno Yukinoshita looked down at the fallen Hayato Hayama, her expression unreadable.
"Hayato..." she said softly. Her eyes reddened, tears welling but refusing to fall.
Behind them, the non-combatant wives watching from the rear were absolutely shattered by the scene.
Then Haruno Yukinoshita spoke.
"That's it."
"You died."
"How could you die?"
"I haven't finished grinding your affection meter yet."
Her lashes finally surrendered to the weight. A single tear slipped free and landed on Hayato's face.
Seeing that tear, Hayato's smile deepened.
"Haruno... you're crying... for me..."
With the last of his strength, he raised a hand toward her cheek.
"Hayato."
Haruno's voice was barely a whisper. "You died... and I hadn't even finished grinding your affection meter?"
Hayato Hayama's hand froze in midair.
His pupils blew wide. Those fading eyes snapped back into focus for one final moment.
His lips trembled violently. He tried to speak, but his throat produced only a wet, gurgling "Ghh... ghh..." as blood frothed up.
His eyes locked onto Haruno. Those golden pupils that had once brimmed with love and devotion now burned with pure, unyielding resentment.
A few seconds later.
The hand suspended in the air went limp and fell.
Hayato Hayama was dead.
His eyes remained wide open. The ghost of that smile still tugged at his mouth, but all the warmth had drained from his gaze, replaced by fury and regret.
He died with his eyes open.
Haruno was silent for a long moment.
Then she reached out and gently closed his eyelids.
"Don't look at me like that," she murmured. "You did this willingly, didn't you?"
...
"That bastard actually took out Nozton..."
Roger was equally furious.
"You're fighting me and you still have the nerve to look away?"
The Gun Fiend form of Yu Ishigami appeared behind Roger, clearly annoyed, and opened fire again.
But compared to Reze and Rayleigh's fairly even exchange, Ishigami was clearly outmatched against Roger.
Roger sidestepped the shot effortlessly, not even bothering with Observation Haki, relying on pure physical instinct. "A kid who can turn into a gun. Your ability is annoying, but your attack patterns are too easy to read."
He flicked his blade in a reverse slash and severed Ishigami's right gun-arm clean in half.
"Shut up!"
Ishigami, who'd always prided himself as Makoto's top fighter, exploded with rage. His right leg transformed into a heavy gun barrel and he swung it at Roger.
But Roger was faster. He kicked Ishigami's leg out from under him and sent him sprawling.
Rather than follow up with a kill like his first mate would have, Roger turned and charged straight at Makoto. He understood the oldest rule in the book: take out the leader first.
"Roger, stop!"
Shakky and Gloriosa shouted at the same time. They could see what Roger apparently couldn't: Makoto wasn't on the same level as his subordinates. Not even close.
"ROAR!!!"
A sound like a primordial beast's howl shook the air as a massive skeletal giant materialized around Makoto. Its arms crossed, catching Roger's blade.
Susanoo, second stage.
"Tough! But I'm not done yet!"
Feeling the Susanoo's resilience, Roger pushed harder, preparing his trump card: Supreme King's Haki infusion.
But inside the Susanoo, Makoto was faster. He raised his palm, and a rapidly spinning, white-edged energy sphere appeared in his hand.
Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.
Roger's expression changed. He planted his feet on the Susanoo's elbow and launched himself backward, creating distance.
The Rasenshuriken chased after him, forcing Roger to grip his sword with both hands and swing again, meeting it head-on.
BOOM!!!
The ultimate Wind Style chakra collided with brutally overwhelming sword pressure. The entire harbor teetered on the edge of collapse.
Everyone stopped fighting and scrambled in the opposite direction.
Sena Uesugi, who had zero combat ability, rushed forward and grabbed her brother with the broken leg, trying to drag him to safety. But she was just a kid. She didn't have that kind of strength.
Hachiman Hikigaya and Ayaka Totsuka, passing by, lent a hand.
A few seconds later, the shockwave subsided.
Roger dropped back onto the cratered ground and exhaled. "What technique was that? Never seen anything like it."
The words barely left his mouth before his expression changed dramatically, pupils retreating. Shakky, Gloriosa, and the others screamed: "Roger, behind you!"
Before he could turn, Makoto was already there. "You focused too much on the Rasenshuriken."
Dark gray energy erupted from Makoto's body, forming into a giant with four limbs.
Susanoo, fourth stage.
CRASH!!!
The Susanoo raised both arms high, and a buzzing chainsaw came screaming down.
Roger didn't even have time to look. Relying purely on Observation Haki, he flooded Armament Haki into both hands and his blade, raising his sword overhead to block.
KRAKOOM!!!
One strike. The entire harbor of Malad Island collapsed.
Makoto landed at the edge of town, watching the debris-choked sea with no expression.
Roger had plunged into the deep water. Hard to tell if he was alive.
But the man wasn't a Devil Fruit user. He'd be fine.
The Kuja Pirates looked at Makoto with renewed fear in their eyes.
Not just because he'd beaten Roger. But because they knew, with absolute certainty, that he hadn't gone all out.
That giant he'd summoned wasn't even close to the size of the one he'd shown them during their first meeting.
Splash.
Right on cue, Roger bobbed to the surface, hacking up seawater.
He looked at the shore where his crewmen were being held by Makoto's subordinates. Even though Roger still had fight left in him, he couldn't make another move.
"Well?"
Roger hauled himself onto the beach, sheathed his sword, and raised his hands in surrender.
Makoto didn't answer. He just gave his women a look, signaling them to board the Roger Pirates' Oro Jackson and help themselves to the treasure.
The women surged toward the great ship in a swarm. Chika Fujiwara, Moeha Fujiwara, the Nakano sisters minus Yotsuba, and the others who hadn't contributed a thing in combat looked a bit sheepish.
Makoto didn't care.
Whoever fought hardest got first pick. No exceptions.
He wasn't about to hand out privileges just because someone felt left out. If they found Devil Fruits on their own adventures in the future, they could do what they wanted with those.
Before long, the Akizuki sisters, Utaha Kasumigaoka, and the others came hauling chest after chest of gold and treasure.
Pure melee fighters Yotsuba Nakano and Ran Mouri carried the biggest boxes.
"Makoto, we couldn't find any Devil Fruits. Just treasure," Ran Mouri said, opening her crate to reveal gleaming gold and jewels.
Miyuki Shirogane and Futaro Uesugi, the two broke boys of the group, stared until their eyes nearly popped out.
It was trash to Makoto and his crew, but to boys who'd grown up counting every coin, this was a lifetime's worth of impossible wealth.
Makoto looked at the Roger Pirates with open disdain. "You didn't even bring your valuables on the ship?"
"Who's valuables?! I was rescuing Shakky!" Gaban snarled.
Smack.
Before he finished, the Roger Pirates' third-in-command caught a slap from Ishigami. "Who said you could talk to my boss like that?"
Beam cackled. "Haha! Ishigami, you lost your fight and now you're taking it out on the enemy?"
Ishigami's face darkened as he glared at Beam.
But the devil just kept grinning, utterly unbothered.
Everyone knew Makoto hated infighting above all else. Even Ishigami wouldn't dare break that iron rule.
"Boss, should we do what we did with those other pirates? Chop them into mincemeat and dump them in the ocean?"
Ishigami took a deep breath, steadied himself, and asked Makoto for instructions.
That was how they'd handled the previous pirate crews.
Gloriosa and Shakky's faces went white. They hadn't known the other pirates, so those deaths hadn't mattered. But the Roger Pirates were old friends of the Kuja. They couldn't just stand by and watch them die.
Makoto's next words let them breathe again.
"No. I have other uses for them."
The truth was, the system's mission required Ace as a key piece. If Roger disappeared now, that would be a problem.
"I need Humphry for something else."
"Yes, boss!"
At Makoto's call, the Libido Devil came running.
"Go tell the Marines here that I want to speak with the Fleet Admiral. One top-tier Devil Fruit in exchange for one Roger Pirates officer."
That was the play. The pirates might not have top-tier Devil Fruits, but the Marines surely did. Or the World Government, at least.
Trading one Roger Pirates officer with a bounty over a billion was a deal where he couldn't lose.
As for whether Roger would be locked up forever, Makoto wasn't worried. If Golden Lion Shiki, a Devil Fruit user, could break out of Impel Down, Roger could manage it easily.
Besides, in the original timeline, Roger's son Ace ended up being handed over to the Marines by Blackbeard anyway.
This way, Roger could experience his son's suffering a little early.
The Roger Pirates and the Kuja Pirates alike went pale.
But even Gloriosa and Shakky, who were on familiar terms with Makoto, didn't dare intervene. What if they pushed back and he changed his mind from capture to execution?
"Understood, boss!" The Libido Devil grinned, gathered the Fab Four, and marched into town.
Last time Makoto had sent them to contact the Marines, they'd changed plans midway and never made it.
...
"Makoto, if you get Devil Fruits... which of us gets them?"
After the Fab Four left, Mrs. Yukinoshita couldn't help asking.
In the real world, she'd been serving as Makoto's housekeeper. But here in another world, having no combat ability at all was a real problem.
She didn't need to be as strong as Reze or Kotonoha, but at minimum, she needed to defend herself.
The question lit up eager eyes across the group.
Most of them didn't actually care about the Devil Fruits themselves. Fighters like Reze and Ran Mouri already had enough power. But who Makoto chose to give them to? That was a statement about where someone stood in his heart.